THARISA opened its 2026 financial year on promising terms saying on Tuesday metal recoveries had improved amid higher average prices for platinum group metals that could edge yet further.
Commenting on the firm’s operational performance for the three months ended December, (Tharisa has a September year-end), CEO Phoevos Pouroulis said: “leading indicators across the business are trending positively”.
Seasonal factors affected production – 38,800 ounces PGMs (Q4: 41,300 oz) and 349,400 tons of chrome (407,200 tons), quarter on quarter declines of 6.1% and 14.2% respectively – but recoveries improved 78.8% for PGMs and 70.3% for chrome.
The average chrome price for the three months was slightly higher at $276/t compared to $266/t. But it was in PGMs where the market was notably changed with the PGM basket averaging $2,208/oz compared to $1,615/oz – a quarter-on-quarter increase of 13.1%.
“We remain constructive on the PGM price outlook and expect current price levels, and potentially higher levels, to persist in the months ahead,” said Pouroulis.
Analysts expect PGM shares to perform well this year on the back of sustained and improving prices. “Stay long of platinum shares through the next three years,” said René Hochreiter, an analyst for Noah Capital.
“Short term price corrections should be treated as buying opportunities,” he said. “The long term trend is very bullish. And Tharisa is our most valuable pick on our rankings.”
Steve Friedman, an analyst for UBS said while the bank had been “constructive” on PGM market fundamentals, the “speed and magnitude of the price rally, especially into December, exceeded our expectations”.
Although speculative factors were at play in PGMs, UBS did not think the equities were expensive as “this conclusion underestimates the durability of the current pricing environment”.
“Supply remains structurally constrained after years of underinvestment, while auto demand remains resilient and above-ground inventories are thin,” he said.
For Tharisa, the company is expected to finalise project finance for its $380m, 400,000 oz a year Karo Platinum project which is due to commission in 2027. First, however, it was critical to finalise a fiscal agreement with Zimbabwe where the project is located. Pouroulis said in December an agreement with the government was imminent.
“We were hoping by the end of this calendar year, but failing [that] … early in the new year, we’ll be able to come out officially with the position and the provisions,” he said.
Tharisa ended the first quarter with net cash of $47m (Q4: $68.6m). The company has guided to PGM production of between 145,000 to 165,000 ounces and chrome output of between 1.5 to 1.65 million tons for the current financial year.
